Aberdeen - Family Law.
Aberdeen is Scotland's third largest city and is commonly referred to as the Oil Capital of Europe due to its proximity to the Scottish North Sea oil findings. Other epithets are Granite City or Silver City since the city centre consist of grey granite buildings that shimmers like silver when hit by the sun's rays.
Being located in Scotland, Aberdeen is within the jurisdiction of Scots Law, which differs significantly from the common law based legal systems applied in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This means that if you have a family law issue in Aberdeen, you should definitely get a solicitor or other legal expert that specializes in Scots Law, not general UK law. When it comes of Scottish Family Law, two major acts of interest are the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 c.36 and the Civil Evidence (Family Mediation) (Scotland) Act 1995 c.6.
Since Family Law encompasses such a huge span of different issues, it is naturally advisable to get an Aberdeen family lawyer that can take your entire situation into account and help you and your family through all stages of life; from pre-nuptials to wills. Other examples of areas where you might find it helpful to involve a family lawyer are custody issues, separation agreements, divorce cases, questions regarding alimony and child support, family finances, pension rights, matrimonial property, domestic violence, grandparent’s rights, and legal aid.
The Scottish legal system is based in uncodified civil law that dates back to the Corpus Juris Civilis and derives its roots from ancient Roman Law. Over the years, it has also incorporated elements from medieval sources and common law. The Scottish legal system is therefore a pluralistic one that is very different from that of nearby England and Wales, and the legal system valid in Aberdeen and the rest of Scotland actually shares similarities with the mixed legal systems of South Africa, Quebec in Canada and Louisiana in the United States.
In Scotland, there is also a shared legislature with the rest of the United Kingdom since 1707 that must be taken into account and during recent years the rules and regulations of the European Union has grown increasingly important in many areas of Scottish Law. The Treaty of Rome and the establishment of the Scottish Parliament are two factors that have had a huge impact on modern Scots Law. Thanks to the Scotland Act 1998, the Scottish Parliament can now pass legislation within certain areas of legislative competence.
If you are used to the common law system applied in the rest of the United Kingdom, you might find the names of the various legal experts in Scotland a bit confusing. In England and Wales, there is a strong distinction between solicitors and barristers. In Aberdeen the rest of Scotland, the two major legal professions are instead the solicitor and the advocate. In Scotland, solicitors have traditionally represented their clients in all the lower courts, but not in the High Court of Justiciary and the Court of Session.
